Learn Arabic › B2 › أَوائِل
أَوائِل
the first ones; the early part of (a period) /ʔaˈwaːʔil/
nounB2#4354 most common
Also: the earliest (people or things), the top-ranking (e.g. students), the beginning of (a century, month, etc.)
Example sentences
سَافَرْنا فِي أَوائِلِ الصَّيْفِ.
We traveled in early summer.
وُلِدَ أَخِي فِي أَوائِلِ شَهْرِ يَنايِرَ.
My brother was born in early January.
هُوَ مِنْ أَوائِلِ الطُّلّابِ فِي صَفِّهِ.
He is among the top students in his class.
كانَتْ هِيَ مِنْ أَوائِلِ النِّساءِ اللَّواتِي دَرَسْنَ الطِّبَّ فِي بَلَدِها.
She was among the first women to study medicine in her country.
شَهِدَتْ أَوائِلُ القَرْنِ العِشْرِينَ تَغَيُّراتٍ كُبْرَى فِي المُجْتَمَعِ.
The early twentieth century saw major changes in society.
يَخْتَلِفُ المُؤَرِّخُونَ حَوْلَ تَحْدِيدِ أَوائِلِ مَنِ اسْتَخْدَمَ هَذا المُصْطَلَحَ فِي الأَدَبِ العَرَبِيِّ.
Historians disagree on identifying who first used this term in Arabic literature.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | أَوَّل | أَوائِلُ |
| Genitive | أَوَّلٍ | أَوائِلَ |
| Accusative | أَوَّلاً | أَوائِلَ |
| Vocative | يا أَوَّلُ | يا أَوائِلُ |
Word family
أَوَّلfirst
أَوَّلاًfirstly, at first
الأُولَىthe first (feminine)
تَأْوِيلinterpretation
مَآلoutcome, end result
Etymology
Awā'il is the broken plural of awwal, meaning first. Awwal traces to the Semitic root w-ʾ-l, linked to the idea of returning or referring back, so the first thing is that to which everything else refers back. The same root gives Arabic words about interpretation and outcome, since both point back to an origin or a point of reference.
Learn Arabic the way that sticks.
Every word here is a full Polylex card with native audio and spaced repetition, so 4,080 words actually move into long-term memory.
Start free
Every word here is a full Polylex card with native audio and spaced repetition, so 4,080 words actually move into long-term memory.
Start free